The "political" class
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Prince Rhyus
Spokesman of King Antonio
A very interesting yet depressing article.
It's symptomatic of the changes in society. The "establishment" - the gentlemen amateurs have been pushed out - ironically by the Thatcher years that oversaw the development of the "professional corporate class."
We see it in the civil service. The generalist is being phased out and the specialist is being phased in. There are benefits and risks in this. The benefit is that at the sharper end, you have experts in their fields working on policy and delivery. The risk is that specialists may not have the broader understanding of other fields that a generalist has.
One of the challenges at the moment is that people who go into politics - especially parliamentary politics, are seen as careerists. The way that political parties are controlled only seeks to encourage this. Whereas on the old days the annual conferences were the primary policy-making bodies of parties and organisations, today they are more stage-managed media opportunities and drink-fests.
This control seeps down into the messy world of student politics. You've got careerists who see an SU post as a stepping stone for greater things because of the path trodden by predecessors. WIth these fighting the far left you have a large level of apathy across the student world. One group of people in it for themselves and another group interested in fantasy politics of the last millennium.
With the pool of candidates for Parliament being so small, the quality of the people elected to serve is going to be limited, with those limitations being made horribly clear when weak ministers and shadows find timeselves infront of the despatch box.
One thing that the article doesn't cover - and probably exposes where Oborne is coming from, is where does this political class come from and how does one get into it?
It's symptomatic of the changes in society. The "establishment" - the gentlemen amateurs have been pushed out - ironically by the Thatcher years that oversaw the development of the "professional corporate class."
We see it in the civil service. The generalist is being phased out and the specialist is being phased in. There are benefits and risks in this. The benefit is that at the sharper end, you have experts in their fields working on policy and delivery. The risk is that specialists may not have the broader understanding of other fields that a generalist has.
One of the challenges at the moment is that people who go into politics - especially parliamentary politics, are seen as careerists. The way that political parties are controlled only seeks to encourage this. Whereas on the old days the annual conferences were the primary policy-making bodies of parties and organisations, today they are more stage-managed media opportunities and drink-fests.
This control seeps down into the messy world of student politics. You've got careerists who see an SU post as a stepping stone for greater things because of the path trodden by predecessors. WIth these fighting the far left you have a large level of apathy across the student world. One group of people in it for themselves and another group interested in fantasy politics of the last millennium.
With the pool of candidates for Parliament being so small, the quality of the people elected to serve is going to be limited, with those limitations being made horribly clear when weak ministers and shadows find timeselves infront of the despatch box.
One thing that the article doesn't cover - and probably exposes where Oborne is coming from, is where does this political class come from and how does one get into it?
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
Prince Rhyus said:
Not really, more the continuities of the ruling class - and their internal complaints. The gentlemen amateurs were never gentlemen, nor were they amateurs. They were always dripping head to toe in blood. Much like the modern labour party in fact.
Prince Rhyus
Spokesman of King Antonio
Have you read The Triumph of the Political Class by Oborne?
Just wondered what you made of it. For those of you who haven't, have a look at the interview on
http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2007/10...cal-class.html
The book contains gems that IMHO should be of interest to those followers of politics of all political persuasions.
Grateful for your comments.
Just wondered what you made of it. For those of you who haven't, have a look at the interview on
http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2007/10...cal-class.html
The book contains gems that IMHO should be of interest to those followers of politics of all political persuasions.
Grateful for your comments.
kyser_soze said:
I would have thought it must actually be quietly satisfying being a Tory, because Nu Labour have been consistently to the right of where the traditional Tory position was not so long ago...... must be nice to see that you have successfully dragged your enemy into supporting and promoting your own views!
Giles..
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